Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2013. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Natalie Lambert, director of product marketing, Citrix Gateways and Receiver
Four Predictions That Will Shape Mobility In 2013
Over the past year, the interest in mobility has skyrocketed
and according to industry analysts, mobility is a top priority for today's
CIOs. To be successful with mobility initiatives, organizations need to
allow employees to get their job done from any device, wherever they are. So,
what can we expect to see in 2013?
Prediction 1: BYOD will
hit mainstream...
BYO has been talked about for years as it frees the IT
department from procuring and managing devices and instead allows the user to
choose the best productivity device to suit her style. While not all BYO is created
equally, BYO of mobile devices is becoming the status quo. According to
Forrester Research, more than 80% of CIOs have or will have a BYO policy for
smartphones and tablets in the next 12 months. [i]
Prediction 2: ... But
enabling mobility will be about more than just the device
Yes, allowing employees to use a mobile device to get their
work done is important. But, enabling mobility is about much more than giving a
mobile device access to email or the intranet. To truly embrace mobility,
organizations must allow employees to be productive where they want, when they
want, and on the device they want. This means redefining the "corporate"
device, adopting or developing new apps that are mobile friendly, rethinking
application delivery to account for any type of app on any device and ensuring
that employees always have access to their data.
Prediction 3: The app
landscape will change: Windows apps are no longer king
While showing a full-featured version of PowerPoint on a
small iPhone screen makes for a great demo, it isn't exactly ideal for an
employee trying to edit a presentation on a deadline. Couple this with the
increase in employees using mobile devices and it adds up to organizations
focusing their efforts on providing a new set of apps to mobile workers. These apps will be different across two
dimensions: form and function. Specifically, organizations are looking to
change the form of their apps to enable better productivity while mobile. This
is highlighted by a
recent survey conducted by Citrix, which found that enterprises will increase
their use of SaaS and mobile apps at the expense of Windows apps over the next
year. As for the function of apps, mobility highlights the need for micro apps
that enable employees to accomplish small tasks quickly, such as approving an
expense report, booking a conference room or submitting a sales lead. Overall,
this means new, smaller, mobile friendly apps taking center stage in 2013.
Prediction 4: Managing
mobility will include apps, data and devices
Mobile device management technologies are key to providing a
security foundation on a mobile device. However, that is just the beginning. As
organizations add more mobile-friendly apps to their portfolio, managing and
securing these apps and their associated data will become paramount. Organizations
must look for solutions that help them address the management and security
challenges of each of the components that matter to them. This may mean providing
an MDM solution for corporate-owned devices; technologies that secure, manage
and deliver web, mobile and Windows apps to all devices; and a secure data sync
and sharing solution for knowledge workers. Regardless of the scenario, as all
organizations will be different, sourcing a single mobility solution to manage
all apps, data and devices will greatly simplify IT while improving the
productivity and experience for employees.
2012 was a great year for mobility. We saw
innovative new apps (both business and consumer), great new devices (iOS,
Android, and Windows 8) and an increase in support for mobile workers. 2013
will take this a step further and I expect that a "think mobile first" imperative
becomes the new reality for IT as they procure new
services to support their employees.
###
[i] "Assess
Your Mobile Engagement Maturity", Forrester Research, Inc., November 12, 2012